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Aaron Rai
Introduction: Aishwarya Rai (born 1 November 19732), also known by her married name Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant. Through her successful acting career, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India.34 Rai has received numerous awards and accolades, including two Filmfare Awardsfrom eleven nominations, and she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009. She has often been called "the most beautiful woman in the world".56 Early life and modelling career: Rai was born into a Tulu speaking Tuluva Bunt7 family in Mangaluru, Karnataka.8 Her father, Krishnaraj who passed away on 18 March 2017,9 was an Army biologist, while her mother, Brinda, is a homemaker.10 She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy. Rai's movie Dil Ka Rishta (2003) was co-produced by her brother and co-written by her mother.1112 The family moved to Mumbai, where Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir High School.10 Rai did her intermediate schooling at Jai Hind College for a year,13 and then joined DG Ruparel College14 in Matunga, securing 90 percent in the HSC exams.1015 She trained in classical dance and music for five years during her teens.15 Her favourite subject was zoology, so she initially considered a career in medicine.15 Then with plans to become an architect, she enrolled at Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture,15 but later gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling.13 In 1991, Rai won an international supermodel contest (organised by Ford) and was eventually featured in the American edition of Vogue.1416 In 1993, Rai gained huge public recognition for her appearance in a Pepsi commercial with actors Aamir Khan and Mahima Chaudhry. The single line – "Hi, I'm Sanjana," of her dialogue in the commercial made her instantly famous.1617 In the 1994 Miss India pageant, she won second place, behind Sushmita Sen, and was crowned Miss India World, also winning five other sub-titles, including "Miss Catwalk", "Miss Miraculous", "Miss Photogenic", "Miss Perfect Ten" and "Miss Popular".18 With Sen representing India at the Miss Universe pageant, Rai's duties as the first runner-up included representing India in the rival Miss World Pageant, held that year in Sun City, South Africa. She went on to win the crown19 where she also won the "Miss Photogenic" award and Miss World Continental Queen of Beauty − Asia and Oceania.20 After winning the pageant, Rai spoke of her dream for peace for this world, and her desire to be an ambassador of peace during her one-year reign in London.1821 Rai continued to pursue a career as a model until she became an actress. Acting Career: Early work (1997–1998) Rai made her acting debut in 1997 with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar, a semi-biographical political drama, featuring Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Tabu and Revathi. The film was a critical success and among other awards, won the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival23 Rai featured as Pushpavalli and Kalpana – dual roles; the latter was a fictionalised portrayal of politician and former actress Jayalalithaa.24 Due to Rai's weak Tamil-speaking skills, her dialogue in the film was dubbed by Tamil actress Rohini.25That same year, she was cast as Ashi, a naive teenager in her first Bollywood film – Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya In the 1998 big-budget Tamil romantic drama Jeans directed by S. Shankar, Rai appeared alongside Prashanth and Nassar. She played Madhumita, a young woman who accompanies her ailing grandmother to the United States to seek medical attention. A commercial success, the film earned Rai praise for her acting and dancing skills.27 Unlike in''Iruvar'', Rai practised and dubbed for her own lines in the film.28 Jeans was later submitted as India's official entry to the Academy Awards for 1998.29 Her first role in 1999 was in the melodrama Aa Ab Laut Chalen, directed by Rishi Kapoor Rise to prominence (1999–2001) In 1999, Rai starred in the romantic drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam which became a significant turning point in her career.32 The film, an adaptation of Maitreyi Devi's Bengali novel Na Hanyate, was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-starred Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. She played the main protagonist Nandini, a Gujarati woman who is forced into wedlock (with Devgan's character) despite being in love with another man (played by Khan). Bhansali cast Rai after he met her at the screening of a film and was impressed with her eyes.Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam''emerged as a major commercial success and won Rai a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.35 Rai next took the leading role of Mansi, an aspiring singer, in Subhash Ghai's musical ''Taal; alongside Akshay Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri and Alok Nath In 2000, Rai starred in Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Tamil language adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. Directed by Rajiv Menon, the film also starred Tabu, Mammooty and Ajith Kumar in prominent roles. Rai was cast as Meenakshi (based on the character of Marianne Dashwood), the younger sister of Tabu's character.40 The film was a critical and commercial success and earned Rai positive comments from critics; a review carried by The Indian Express summarised, "Attacking her role with just the perfect dollop of innocence, Aishwarya does full justice to her part, and matches up perfectly to Tabu." Rai next starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Chandrachur Singh in the action drama Josh. She portrayed Shirley Dias, the twin sister of Khan's character who falls in love with his arch enemy's brother (played by Singh).44 The casting of Rai as Khan's sister was considered an unusual pairing at the time; director Mansoor Khan, however, described it as "perfect".45 Despite earning mixed reviews from film critics, Josh emerged as a commercial success.4647 Satish Kaushik's social drama Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai was Rai's next release; she played a rape victim in the film. Co-starring Anil Kapoor and Sonali Bendre, the film was well received by critics and did moderate business at the box office.Rai eventually earned a third Best Actress nomination at Filmfare. Following a leading role in the box-office flop Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Rai took on a supporting role in Aditya Chopra's ensemble romance Mohabbatein. Rai's role was that of Megha Shankar, the daughter of Amitabh Bachchan's character who commits suicide after realising that her father will not accept her romance with one of his students (played by Shah Rukh Khan). Despite earning mixed reviews from film critics, Mohabbatein emerged as the second highest-grossing film of the year and earned Rai a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Devdas and international recognition (2002–07 After featuring in David Dhawan's slapstick comedy film Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, Rai appeared alongside Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixitin Sanjay Leela Bhansali's love-saga Devdas, an adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name.52 She played the role of Paro (Parvati), the love interest of the protagonist (played by Khan). The film was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festivaland was featured by Time in their listing of the "10 best films of the millennium".5354 The film emerged as a major international success with revenues of over ₹840 million (US$13 million).5556 Alan Morrison, writing for Empire, praised the performances of the three leads and wrote, "Aishwarya Rai proves she has the acting talent to back up her flawless looks".57 Devdas was chosen as India's official entry for theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received a nomination at the BAFTA Awards in the Best Foreign Language Filmcategory.58 In India, the film won 10 Filmfare Awards, including a second Best Actress award for Rai. In 2003, Rai featured in two romantic dramas of Bollywood, her brother's production début Dil Ka Rishta, alongside Arjun Rampal, andRohan Sippy's Kuch Na Kaho, alongside Abhishek Bachchan.60 Neither of these films fared well critically or commercially.6061 She was later noted for her starring role in Rituparno Ghosh's independent Bengali film Chokher Bali, an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's novel of the same name.62 She portrayed the character of Binodini, an emotionally manipulative widow, struggling with her sexual desires in early-20th century Bengal.63 The film was a major critical success and Rai earned positive notice for her performance After the success of Chokher Bali, Rai returned to mainstream Hindi film with Rajkumar Santoshi's Khakee (2004), an action thriller featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan and Tusshar Kapoor. The film tells the story of five constables embroiled in a mystery surrounding a terrorist attack; Rai's role was that of Mahalakshmi, a gun moll. While filming for Khakee, Rai was accidentally hit by a running car, which resulted in the fracture of her left foot.67 Upon release, the film received moderate critical and commercial success.68 In her next release, the romantic comedy Kyun! Ho Gaya Na..., Rai played Diya Malhotra, a university student who develops a one-sided attraction toward her friend Arjun Khanna (played by Vivek Oberoi). The film received positive to mixed comments from critics, but failed commercially. In late 2004, Rai garnered international recognition for her starring role opposite Martin Henderson in Gurinder Chadha's British film Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. International film critics expressed mixed views on Rai's performance as the Punjabi version of Elizabeth Bennet; a review carried by The New York Times mentioned her as "radiantly beautiful but inert" Rai next collaborated with director Rituparno Ghosh, for the second time, in the relationship drama Raincoat, an adaptation of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi. Also featuring Ajay Devgan,Raincoat met with wide critical acclaim and among other wins, won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Rai next co-starred alongside Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan in the 2005 adult drama Shabd, which tells the story of an author who convinces his wife to pursue an illicit relationship with a younger man in research for his next book. The film received predominantly negative reviews and proved a commercial failure.That same year, Rai took on the lead role of Tilo in Paul Mayeda Berges's romantic fantasy film The Mistress of Spices, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.77 The film received negative reviews from film critics7879 and emerged as a commercial failure Rai's only successful venture of 2005 was a special appearance in Shaad Ali's comedy Bunty Aur Babli, in which she featured in the popular item number Kajra Re. Rai had two film releases in 2006, J P Dutta's Umrao Jaan and Yash Raj Films' Dhoom 2. The former, an adaptation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's Urdunovel Umrao Jaan Ada (1905), tells the story of a doomed courtesan from 19th-century Lucknow. Rai played the titular role, a character famously played by Rekha in the first film adaptation of the novel. In the Sanjay Gadhvi-directed adventure film Dhoom 2, Rai portrayed Sunehri, a petty thief who helps the police catch an illusive criminal; the film had an ensemble cast includingHrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, and Uday Chopra.85 Though critically unsuccessful, the film was Rai's first major commercial success since Devdas; the film was declared a blockbuster, and became the highest grossing Indian film of 2006 with gross revenues of over ₹1.11 billion (US$17 million. In 2007, Rai played the wife of Abhishek Bachchan's character in Mani Ratnam's social drama Guru. A fictionalised biography of businessman Dhirubhai Ambani, Guru tells the rag to riches story of an uneducated man who builds a multinational corporation. The film met with international critical acclaim and emerged as a box-office success.Rai received her seventh Best Actress nomination at Filmfare for her performance in the film. Rai next starred alongside Naveen Andrews and Miranda Richardson in Jag Mundhra's independent British drama Provoked, as the real-life character of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a non-resident Indian who murders her husband after suffering years of domestic abuse.91 Rai earned mostly positive comments for her performance.That same year, Rai starred alongside Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth and Thomas Sangster as the Indian warrior Mira in Doug Lefler's epic film The Last Legion. Jodhaa Akbar and other roles (2008–10) After a series of films that under-performed either critically or commercially, Rai garnered both critical and box-office success with Ashutosh Gowariker's period romance Jodhaa Akbar (2008). The film narrates a partly fictionalised account of a marriage of convenience between theMughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (played by Hrithik Roshan) and the Rajput princess Jodha Bai (played by Rai). Rajeev Masandnoted, "Aishwarya Rai is wonderfully restrained and uses her eyes expertly to communicate so much, making this one of her finest outings on screen".97 The film had gross earnings of ₹1.12 billion (US$17 million) and fetched Rai a Best Actress nomination at the Filmfare Awards ceremony.98 She then co-starred with her husband, Abhishek Bachchan, and her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan, in Ram Gopal Verma's political drama Sarkar Raj, a sequel to the 2005 box-office hit Sarkar.99 Rai was cast as Anita Rajan, the CEO of an international power firm who proposes to set up a plant in rural Maharashtra. The film was a critical and commercial success, with praise directed to the performances of the three leads. Rai's next role was in the 2009 Harald Zwart-directed spy comedy The Pink Panther 2. Starring alongside Steve Martin, Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer, Rai portrayed the role of Sonia Solandres, a seductive criminology expert. Like its predecessor, the sequel received negative reviews from critics,102 but did a moderate business of $34 million at the American box office. n 2010, Rai was cast by Mani Ratnam in his bilingual modern-day adaptation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Her role was that of Ragini (modeled on Sita, the heroine of Ramayana), a woman married to the superintendent of police, who is kidnapped by a bandit. The Hindi version (Raavan) and the Tamil version (Raavanan) of the film were shot simultaneously and Rai played the same role in both the film versions. Rai's next role was opposite Rajinikanth in the science fiction Tamil film Enthiran (2010), directed by S. Shankar.110 She was cast as Sana, a college student and the girlfriend of Rajinikanth's character. At the time of release, Enthiran was the most expensive Indian film production and eventually emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.111112113 She then appeared as Mala, an impetuous brat, in Vipul Shah's Action Replayy; a science fiction comedy co-starring Akshay Kumar, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Neha Dhupia. Rai's final film of 2010 was the drama Guzaarish; her third collaboration with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Hrithik Roshan.114 The film tells the story of Ethan Mascarenas, a former magician (played by Roshan) suffering from quadriplegia, who after years of struggle, files an appeal for euthanasia. Rai's role was that of Sophia D'Souza, Mascarenas' nurse, who is abused by her alcoholic husband. Due to her and Bhansali's prior associations, Rai agreed to the project before reading its script.115 Despite flopping at the box-office, Guzaarish met with positive critical comments.In 2011, Rai was cast as the protagonist of Madhur Bhandarkar's social drama Heroine; however, due to her pregnancy, Rai was replaced by actress Kareena Kapoor, the original choice for the role. Work after sabbatical (2015–present) After a five-year sabbatical from film acting, Rai made a comeback with Sanjay Gupta's drama-thriller Jazbaa, co-starring Shabana Azmi and Irrfan Khan.120 A remake of the Korean thriller Seven Days (2007), the film saw Rai play the role of Anuradha Verma, a criminal lawyer who is forced to defend a rapist in exchange for her daughter's safety. The film received mixed reviews from critics but turned out to be a profitable venture at box-office. In 2016, Rai starred in Omung Kumar's biographical drama Sarbjit. The film is based on the life of Indian farmer Sarabjit Singh, who was convicted of terrorism by a Pakistani court, and how his sister Dalbir Kaur fought relentlessly for his release. Rai played the role of the sister of Sarabjit Singh (played by Randeep Hooda).124 The film premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival,125 and received mixed reactions from critics. In 2016, Rai starred in Omung Kumar's biographical drama Sarbjit. The film is based on the life of Indian farmer Sarabjit Singh, who was convicted of terrorism by a Pakistani court, and how his sister Dalbir Kaur fought relentlessly for his release. Rai played the role of the sister of Sarabjit Singh (played by Randeep Hooda).124 The film premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival,125 and received mixed reactions from critics. Rai's final release of 2016 was Karan Johar's romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in which she played the role of a poetess named Saba. Rai received mostly positive notice for her performance despite having limited screen time. Personal life In 1999, Rai began dating Bollywood actor Salman Khan; their relationship was often reported in the media until the couple separated in 2002. Rai cited "abuse (verbal, physical and emotional), infidelity and indignity" on the part of Khan as reasons for ending the relationship. Though they both appeared in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (in which her then longtime boyfriend, Salman Khan, had a brief cameo) and Kuch Naa Kaho, Abhishek Bachchan fell in love with Rai whilst filming Dhoom 2.176 Their engagement was announced on 14 January 2007 and later confirmed by his father, Amitabh Bachchan.177 The couple married on 20 April 2007 according to traditional Hindu rites of theBunt community, to which she belongs.178 Token North Indian and Bengali ceremonies were also performed. The wedding took place in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, "Prateeksha", in Juhu, Mumbai.178 They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media.179180 Rai is very close to her family and lived with them in Bandra, Mumbai, until her marriage.181182183 Rai is Hindu and deeply religious.5 Her international presence shot up when Abhishek Bachchan accompanied her to the Cannes Film Festival shortly after their marriage, and later to The Oprah Winfrey Show, appearing on 28 September 2009.184 They were described as being more famous as a couple than Brangelina.185186187 Rai gave birth to a baby girl on 16 November 2011.188 Her daughter became popularly known by the name of "Beti B", a name attributed to her by fans and the media, since the couple took over four months to name their daughter.189190 Rai is commonly referred to by fans and the media by the nicknames "Ash" and "Aish", but has stated that she dislikes being called as such. She has discouraged people from referring to her by names other than "Aishwarya" as she does not want to "spoil her good name". Category:Bollywood Category:Indian